CSS Feb. 11-Feb. 16 FAB-U-LOUS!!

Hi,
My husband and I just returned from CSS, and it was the best vacation ever!!! I will try to organize my review into separate sections, so I can keep it all straight. Sorry it's a bit long...

Arrival: MBJ and Customs was a breeze. Just make sure you have a pen or two with you on the plane so you can complete the form on board and don't have to waste anytime once you land. Also make sure you fill out the top part of the form that deals with your arrival info and the bottom part of the form that deals with your departure info. Once you make it through Customs, just head down the hallway and into the Couples Lounge. The first words spoken to us by the staff were "Welcome Home" and I truly felt that from my first sip of Red Stripe. Our luggage was tagged and we chatted with the other couples waiting for shuttles. We only had to wait 20 minutes and we were on our way to CSS. There was only one other couple in the van with us (they were going to CTI), and we decided to skip the stop in the middle and just head to our resorts. The traffic was minimal, and the road was in excellent shape, but hold on for quite the ride--lots of passing using the lane for on-coming traffic! We made it to CSS in about 1hour and twenty-five minutes.

Check-In: Was uneventful and glorious. The minute we sat down at the reception desk, we were handed cool towels and a glass of champagne. The open air lobby was beautiful and our room was ready for us. We had selected a Penthouse Suite and were assigned D-14, the Steve McQueen suite.

Steve McQueen Suite: The suite had a living/sitting room, a half bath off the living room, a large bedroom with a king size bed, and a full bath with a beautiful blue-tiled walk-in shower, and a huge balcony with 2 lounge chairs, a sofa and coffee table a a dining table for two. Our view was of the Main Beach and the Main Lawn. Granted, the room was showing a little bit of wear, but it was immaculate and lovely. If only the closet could have been a bit bigger. But that was my issue though, I totally over packed. After checking out every nook and cranny of the room, I truly felt that I had arrived in paradise and never wanted to leave. We had just been in the suite a few minutes when there was a knock on the door--it was room service with more champagne and an appetizer tray with seafood and cheese and crackers. I told them that we didn't order anything and the waiter said --- "not to worry my lady--compliments of the hotel." I had truly died an gone to heaven--I knew we were in for a truly wonderful 5 day vacation experience.

A/N Beach: SSB was great! There was no ackwardness or gawkers. The beach is on a bay and was very private. There were plenty of lounge chairs and palapas to go around, however, the earlier you got there the better location selection. Jheanel, the bartender at SSB was fantastic. She would be waiting with another rum punch just as I finishing. Also the grill had great food for lunch and throughout the afternoon. The french fries and jerk chicken were great!:-)

Food/Drinks: Almost every meal we had was good. I must admit that I was under-whelmed by Bella Vista. No matter what I ordered, it was always lukewarm or cold. The wait staff also wasn't very friendly. However, the food and waiters at Casanova were amazing and the drinks in the Balloon bar are heavenly. I must mention the Starlight Gala--the food although a buffet was high-end, delicious and plentiful. It is definitely a not-to-miss event! One more thing--room service is sooooo fast you barely have time to hang up the phone before they are at the door with your order!!!

Private Dinner: Our anniversary is Valentine's Day so as a surprise for my husband, I booked the Forever Yours package that included a private dinner. Our dinner was scheduled for the Wedding Gazebo, and I had selected the Moments Menu. The gazebo was beautifully decorated with flowers and candles and the champagne flowed from the appetizer course through dessert. Our waiter Daron was terrific and at the end of the meal sent us to our room with 2 bottles of champagne! He said we needed to continue the celebration!

Check-Out: Our departure date came all too quickly, but it too was handled professionally by Couples staff. We received a notice in our room the night before check-out telling us when we had to have our luggage outside, what time we needed to check out, and what time the airport shuttle would be picking us up. We had an early afternoon flight so we left the resort at 8:30am.

Future Plans: We had such an awesome time, I am trying to book another trip for later this year. We are still trying to organize our photos, and I will try to post them soon. This was our first trip to a Couples Resort, but it won't be our last! I can't wait to be home again!

suzyQ, great review!(sorry, I couldn't resist)
I loved your review and couldn't agree more, CSS is fantastic. We stayed in D-14 last April and your description brought us back. I have to agree with the Bella Vista comment too. Hopefully Mr. Battaglia will look into this. We spent a week at CSS in April and a week in '08 and had the same experience with the unfriendly staff at Bella Vista on both trips. We ended up going to Palazzina for lunch the last few days which is great and has much friendlier staff. It's one of the main reasons we're not heading back to CSS this year. Everywhere else at CSS the staff was great. We are going to CSA though in 42 days.

Hello CoolRunnings!
You will love your penthouse suite! D Block was centrally located and there weren't too many steps. It is so beautiful at CSS, you really don't mind the steps. If you and your wife are early risers, order the continental breakfast and enjoy it on your balcony. It truly is a blessed gift to see the resort as it comes alive each morning! I will try to post the pics again---I wasn't successful. If you are comfortable sending me your email, I would be happy to send you pics of our suite and our view!

could you send me pictures of the penthouse too (jeff@allenby.com)? My fiancee and I are going to CSS for our honeymoon at the beginning of June and have not been able to find very many good pictures of the room.

my husband and I will be there at the end of April and would love to see the pics as we have booked a penthouse suite also. I have not been able to find any pics of these rooms other then the one here on the site so it would be greatly appreciated. Please send to

Hi ibweav29,
I would love to send you some photos! However, we bought a new camera for our trip and I'm having difficulties attaching the photos! I owe two other folks pictures too! My husband and I are trying to work out all the kinks, and I will get them to you as soon as I can!

Oh Suzy! My husband & I are not coming until next year for our 10 year anniversary to CTI. I can not wait and I am very excited. I am going to submit my review just like you did. I was put together very well and I felt like I was there with you both. I am so glad that you & your sweetie had the time of your lifes. I can not wait to come to Couples Resort. After reading all these wonderful reviews, it's so hard to wait all the way until 09/2011 to come to the resort.

Hi Spice505!
I'm sure that you will LOVE your 10th anniversary trip to CTI! I must tell you that Ialso booked our first trip to CSS several months in advance, but reading this message board made the time pass very quickly!!!!! I think the excitement you build up until your trip is almost as thrilling as when you first step into the Couples Lounge and are greeted with a heartfelt "Welcome Home!"